March 9, 2005 | Page 6

NEWS

Canfor Contributes
Big Cash to UNBC

Canfor has announeed a
$300,000 contribution to the
Northern Medical Program’s
Trust (NMPT), bringing thé
company’s total investment in
‘UNBC to more than $1 mil-
lion.

Canfor’s NMPT donation is
supporting the pledges of every
community where the compa-
‘ny operates: To date, just over
twenty northern B.C. commu-
nities and electoral districts
have pledged amounts :based:
on their. populations, with the
endowment providing financial
assistance for students in the
Northern Medical Program,
Communities benefiting from
the Canfor gift.are Chetwynd,
Fort Nelson, Fort St John,
Taylor, Fort St James,
- Vanderhoof Houston,
Smithers, Mackenzie,
Valemount, Quesnel, and
Prince George.

In the past, Canfor has sup-
ported capital construction, a
public lecture series, research,
and student awards Since”
1995, 141 students have
received Canfor awards.

Researchers
Complete National
Rural Nursing Study
A first-ever national study of
rural nurses has shown that the

number of rural nurses has
been declining and that their

work experiences are very dif |

ferent from their counterp
in urban centres,
In The Nature of rsing

Practice in Rural and Remote —
Canada, researchers conduct:
ed a first-ever survey of nearly

4,000 rural nurses, conducted
detailed interviews with 152
rural mures, reviewed more
than 200 documents that relate
to rural nursing-practice, and
analysed the national database
of registered nurses. Between
1994 and 2002, the number of
rural nurses declined by 1655 -
a drop of 3.9%. Over the same
period, the average age of rural
nurses increased from 40.6 to
nearly 43 years. Currently in

Canada’s urban centres, there® |

are about 78 nurses per 10,000

people. In rural areas;'there are

only 62 nurses per 10,000 rural
residents.

The research project was led by
faculty at the University .of
Northern British Columbia,
the University of Lethbridge,
Laurentian University, and the
University of Saskatchewan.
Never before has a UNBC
research project involved such
extensive geographic participa-
tion,

B.C. Electoral Reform goes to Referendum in May

By ANDI BERGEN
THE MArTLET (UNIVERSITY OF
VICTORIA)

British Columbia’s Citizens’
Assembly on Electoral Reform says
the new electoral system it is proposing
will improve the practice of demoera-
cy in the province.

“Election results will be fairer,
reflecting a balance between votes and
seats. Voters will have more choice and
candidates will work harder to earn
their support,” says the final report of
the Citizens’ Assembly, Making Every
Vote Count: The Case for Electoral
Reform in British Columbia.

After deliberating for 11 months,
the group — made up of 160 ran-
domly selected B.C. residents — has
recommended a single transferable
vote system. During the provincial

election in May, B.C. voters will decide
whether or not to adopt the new sys-
tem.
If implemented, single transferable
vote will change the way residents are
represented; there will be a clear bal-
ance between the popular vote and the
seats a party gets in government. That
means if 60 per cent of the population
vote for the Liberal party, then rough-
ly 60 per cent of the seats will go to the
Liberals, a significant change from the
current system where the Liberals con-
trol over 90 per cent of the seats with
less than 60 per cent of the total votes.
“There will also be more pressure
-on parties to have balance in nomina-
tions in terms of gender.and in terms
of visible minorities,” said Norman
Ruff, an associate professor of political
science at the University of Victoria.

"Smaller parties will also be able to
get seats. “More people will vote for
them as a first preference. You won't
have that kind of strategic voting pres-
sure that you have now,” said Ruff.

Another change will be the size of
constituencies. Each constituency will
eléct two to seven representatives. But
their size will increase so the current
number of 79 representatives will not
change. Without ‘having multiple
member ridings, it would net be possi-
ble to achieve proportionality in each
riding, said James Lawson, an assistant
professor of political science at, the
university.

But it is not all about the parties. and
members of the legislative assembly.
The electoral reform is designed to
benefit voters.

“If you really want to empower

individual voters, this is the best sys-
tem,” said Ruff.

This is especially true for supporters
of relatively small parties who current-
ly have no representation in govern-
ment. Through ‘this, proponents say,
governments will be more accountable
and will be forced to accept compro-
mises, as they will haveto consider the
policy positions of several other par-
ties.

The new system will also change the
way ballots are-cast. Ina single trans-
ferable vote’ system, voters rank candi-
dates according to preference.

“STV allows each and every voter
the chance t@-say not only which can-
didate is theirfavourite, but also to
rank a number of less favourite candi-
dates,” said Lawson:

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